Chocolate & Beet Cookies {Leftovers Club}

There are those times, I feel, when my thoughts sound so much better than my writings…and there are those times when my writing reads so much better than the words that come out of my mouth…

I had proof of this this past weekend when my daughter and I accompanied my mom to a Fall Memorial Service held by the Hospice Center that helped take care of my dad. This afternoon service was for all the families of patients that had passed recently. Not having received the invite, I had no clue as to the format of the service – till I got there. I found out that family members were encouraged to come up before a roomful of other families and share their stories – I figured my mom would want to say something so I took my seat and got comfortable.

At which point my mom looked at me and asked me if I would go up and say a few words. Knowing full well that “no” was not an option in this case…I started thinking about what I would say. I thought about telling everyone what a good person and dad my dad was, I thought of sharing some of his quotes and I thought of funny stories to say that tied his quotes to the way he lived his life, I thought of sharing how he always had a grin on his face and never complained, I thought of sharing that he suffered for so many years and now he isn’t and that I hope all these families took comfort in the fact that their loved ones were at peace now too.

Then – I went up in front of everyone and all that came out was something about my dad being a good person, I vaguely remember uttering one of the quotes he uttered often to my sister and I: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” and then muttering “thank you“…

As I sat back down – my brain started working again – and …GAH…”thank you“??? What was I thinking…

Yes, my mutterings at that memorial service were oh so questionable…my post today makes more sense…but my thoughts on my dad that afternoon…ahh…I wish I could have thought them out loud that afternoon!

Now to these Chocolate & Beet Cookies – they are made with beets – and nope, you cannot taste the beets in them – they are just plain delicious – I got confirmation of their deliciousness when I sent them to myLeftovers ClubPartner – Elizabeth @ Cooking With Milton! And, they are another one of my sneaky ways of getting my daughter to eat her beets!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Thinking of you Shashi & sending hugs your way. It’s always a bit difficult to be put on the spot, even more so when it comes to opening up about those dearest to you. Even though it’s been 6 years since my dad passed away, I still can’t imagine speaking about it to large groups of people.

On a ‘happier’ note, I’ll take a dozen of those cookies- WOW! Who would have thought they contain beetroot. My sister visits next week and I just forwarded her this recipe, asking if she wants me to make her these! YUM!

Khushboo my sweet friend – thank you so very much for your kind words!

And if you make these cookies when your sis visits, I would so love to know what y’all think about them – I don’t make cookies very sweet – so please feel free to add more sugar or use a semi sweet or milk chocolate even.

Haha – Maureen – thank you so much for your kind words and yup, these cookies sure are good for you though now my daughter plays reverse psychology on me and says that since they are good – portion size does not matter! Gah!

Aww thats so great you got up to speak and say thank you! Thank you is very a bad thing to say 🙂 And I’m sure you came off much more eloquent than you think, and above all I’m sure your mom really appreciated it. That type of thing is NOT easy. You deserve a cookie 😀 (cheers with yummy beet cookies!!)

It’s very hard to say what you mean and what you feel when you’re under pressure like that. Especially when it’s an emotional topic. So sorry to hear that your lost your Dad. It’s very hard. However, the cookies look and sound delicious! Have a great day!

I can’t believe I’ve never heard of the Leftovers Club before. What a cool idea. How fun is that!? I also love how you added beets to these cookies. I add beets to strawberry smoothies, so I know what you mean by “you can’t taste them.” Pinning this recipe now!!

Thanks so much Liz – I have participated in LOC for about 3 months now and yeah – it’s been pretty cool. And you know what – thank you for giving me the idea to add beets to my strawberry smoothies – that’s just BRILLIANT!

If it makes you feel any better, I’m the WORST public speaker and definitely wouldn’t have known what to say. I probably would have said “no” and everyone would have stared at me aahaha. On the other hand, these cookies look delicious! I’ve never made beet cookies before…hmmmmm

Don’t you hate how that happens, Shashi? You know you have to speak in front of people, so you plan out the best speech and know exactly what you’re going to say. Then you just swallow a frog when you get up there. I’ve done it more times than I can count. But here’s the thing…I’m sure your Dad would have been super proud of you getting up there and appreciating him like that. And can I just tell you that you amaze me with all of your crazy awesome beet recipes? You and Laura would be best friends. 🙂

I am terribly sorry to hear about your dad passing. I am sure that your words were received with the intention that you spoke them. People understand that it can be difficult to find the right words to say, especially at the spur of the moment. Sending you lots of love and hugs of comfort.

These beet cookies look magical! I would be super excited to get these in the mail! You are so creative with the beets!!!

I’m constantly reading ‘beet’ as ‘beef’, so my initial thought upon reading your title was, ew, gross! Sorry, I think it’s because we call it beetroot over here! They do look delicious now that I know they are beef-free 😀

I hate getting up in front of people and speaking – and if I do I always have to be prepared, so I can completely relate. Here’s sending warm wishes your way. Love how you incorporated beets into these cookies – I’d never know 🙂

Don’t be too hard on yourself – your dad knows how you feel and all the thoughts. Having to get up and talk in front of people without any preparation is hard. I’m sure that you were wonderful even if you didn’t think so!!!

I am TERRIBLE speaking off the cuff. Give me a little time to prepare and I’m great…but impromptu…YIKES! I wouldn’t have been nearly as composed as you were! (and Thank you is never a bad way to end any speech!) As to beets…they make me shiver. Just the thought of them gives me the willies…but if you can’t taste them at all, I could be persuaded to make these! (the swirly red mixture does look really pretty!) –Lisa

Haha – There are quite a few people I know who equate beets with “willies”! And thank you so much for your kind words, Lisa – I was feeling 2 feet tall after that (ok so I am not that tall to begin with – but gah)so thank you!

The beet cookies are so gorgeous and I really admire you. I don’t think I would have had the courage. That must have been awful to have been put on the spot like that but it does sound like you handled it and pulled through really well. It must have been so moving being in the place where your father last lived and I think it’s amazing that you were able to spend time there and say ‘thank you’ xx

Aaaw, I’m sure everyone understood and I think you did perfectly fine and exactly how anyone else under pressure or without any form of preparation would do. *hugs* Love these cookies! They look and sound delicious and I always love how you hide beets and veggies in your deserts 🙂

I am the worst at getting my thoughts out in those sort of situations! I definitely would have probably said the same thing! And, I just gotta see, your creativity with beets is AMAZING times eleventy billion 😉 girl!! Totally love these. Pinned!

Your cookie recipe looks very interesting. I love the idea of using the beets. And like so many of the other comments above I agree that it’s difficult to stand up and share when it’s unexpected. The most important thing is that you were there and that you honored the memory of your father. I’m delighted to have found your blog today via Sits. I look forward to your future posts. Happy Saturday.

Oh, Shashi, you write some lovely posts. I know what you mean . I often can’t get my words out. Sometimes i writing and somtimes when speaking – you managed just great today though! Love the cookies – they look perfect!

Shashi, I’m so sorry to hear about your father passing. . don’t beat yourself up about what you said at the Memorial Service . . obviously you mom couldn’t speak and you did a great job .. speaking for things like that are always hard and emotional so if you got through it, to me, you did awesome. Hope you are doing ok. and love that you made cookies with beets!

Thoughts, prayers and a little hug is coming your way… I know how difficult this is as your emotions are flowing but you get all chocked up just thinking about all the good times and sayings that your dad used to share with you. Your chocolate beet cookies look so rich and moist. It is almost like red velvet cookies…but better. Just shared! Can you please check your e-mail, I just sent you a little note. Take Care, BAM

Last year my SIL made me a cake for my birthday made with beets. It was the best cake I had had in a very long time, and I don’t like beets! However, they obvious make a delicious sweet because these cookies look like cookies that a cookie monster would not be able to stop eating.

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Hello there, I'm Shashi and welcome to Savory Spin! On here you will find easy-to-make recipes I grew up eating in Sri Lanka, veggie packed eats, and a few decadent delicacies - life's all about balance right!Read More…